Ditch
/dɪtʃ/noun
A long, narrow trench dug in the ground, often for drainage or boundaries.
Did you know?The word comes from Old English *dīc*, which could mean either a ditch or an embankment, showing that in early English a “hole” and a “bank” were two sides of the same defensive spell of land control.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dheigʷʰ-
“to shape, form, or knead”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*dīkaz
“a dug trench or embankment”
Old English
OE
dīc
“a ditch, trench, or embankment”
Middle English
ME
diche
“a ditch or moat”
Modern English
English
ditch
“a narrow channel dug in the ground”
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